Plymouth High School students: VIPs Elizabeth Ratliff...

May 04, 2008

Plymouth High School students: VIPs Elizabeth Ratliff, assistant principal of Plymouth High School, had the responsibility for making sure everything went well from the school's perspective for Saturday's appearance by Bill Clinton. She said the Hillary Clinton campaign called the school Thursday to see if the gym could be used, and she spent most of Friday working out details. Word got out to the 1,100 students Friday afternoon, and the mood was one of excitement, according to Principal James Condon. He said Bill Clinton's appearance was a great opportunity to allow the young people to become knowledgeable about politics and a great opportunity to show off the community. Ratliff was scurrying around Saturday afternoon, a couple of hours before Clinton arrived, to round up students who could stand front and center near the stage. Campaign organizers had asked to have a youthful presence in the prime spot, she said. Dvoraks divided St. Joseph County Prosecutor Michael Dvorak was at Plymouth High School Saturday to show his support for Hillary Clinton, but his wife, Kathleen, was going door-to-door in South Bend to stump for Barack Obama. The prosecutor was among a group of supporters who were let into the gym early and given a reserved space to stand for the appearance of former President Bill Clinton. Michael Dvorak said his entire family has divided loyalties. His son Ryan, who is an Indiana state representative, is in the Obama camp with Kathleen. Another son, Sean, an Indiana University South Bend student who serves as spokesman for the Northern Indiana College Democrats, supports Clinton. The prosecutor said he and his wife ate at separate Taco Bells on Saturday because their campaigns took them in different directions. We suppose he meant that literally as well as philosophically. Casey Wilson appears Casey Wilson, a comedienne from Saturday Night Live, helped to warm up the crowd for Bill Clinton. "I asked the staff if they wanted me to do a character I do on Saturday Night Live, which is a quadriplegic stripper and they said this isn't the venue," she said, getting a few laughs. "So I'm not going to do that here." But seriously, Wilson said she was on the road with Hillary Clinton earlier this week and that she is inspired by the senator's campaign. "As a young woman I am so thrilled at this historic election and it really is in your hands," Wilson said. Standing room only Almost everyone was required to stand for the Clinton appearance. A spot was reserved at stage right in the Plymouth High School gym for key supporters of Hillary Clinton, while a space was cordoned off at stage left for people in wheelchairs. Principal James Condon suggested to a campaign worker that some bleachers could be lowered to allow folks to sit, but the campaign worker nixed the idea. She said they wanted a crowd bunched together in front of the stage, not spread out around the gym and in bleachers. One section of bleachers was lowered, mainly for older people who had spent an hour or more standing in line in the cold, drizzly weather before being allowed inside. Once they were let inside, some were wrapped in blankets while others were clad only in shorts and T-shirts. -- Nancy Sulok and Jamie Loo